"Okay—sure, you know Superman's identity," Shazam said, "but that doesn't mean you know everyone's. I bet you can't tell my identity!"
Batman had already cut off the Superman-identity discussion, but Shazam still didn't believe Ben really knew most heroes' civilian lives—especially his.
After all, Billy could freely switch between a child's body and a grown man's body. If someone hadn't seen it with their own eyes, how could they possibly figure it out?
Ben didn't take the bait seriously. He just chuckled.
"Billy Batson. Ten years old."
"…Huh?" Hal Jordan stared at the huge, broad-shouldered Shazam—who was actually taller than him by a few centimeters—and looked utterly unconvinced. "You're telling me this is ten years old?"
"Victor!" Shazam whipped his head toward Cyborg.
Among everyone present, only Cyborg had seen him revert. It was supposed to be their secret.
"It wasn't me!" Cyborg blurted out immediately, throwing up his hands.
Hearing Ben casually drop Shazam's real identity, Cyborg's face was pure shock. When he noticed Shazam's reaction, he doubled down fast—he hadn't told anyone.
"Cyborg never told me," Ben said, cutting in before an argument could even form. "I knew who you were and what you could do before I ever met any of you. I know way more than Cyborg does. Like how you got your power from the Wizard Shazam at the Rock of Eternity."
That was enough.
Ben had just referenced something Billy had never told anyone else. Billy could only accept it.
"Okay… I believe you," Billy said. "You're basically seeing straight through me."
"If that's true," Wonder Woman said, "then some of Shazam's childish behavior suddenly makes a lot more sense."
After all… he really was a child.
Then the Flash—sitting beside Hal—raised his hand, curiosity written all over his face.
"What about me? Do you know who I am?"
"Of course," Ben said, leaning back in his chair. "Barry Allen—the fastest man alive. Even if your stories always introduce someone faster."
Barry's pride flared instantly.
"Reverse-Flash isn't faster than me."
Ben just stretched and flashed a smile—the same kind of irritatingly "mysterious" one he'd just learned from Batman.
"There'll be more speedster villains waiting for you."
As Ben casually listed secrets one after another, Batman's gaze stayed locked on him. Finally, he asked the question that mattered.
"And you? Ben Tennyson. Where do you and your watch come from? And why do you know so much?"
Ben's eyes lit up.
"Finally asking, huh? I thought you'd gone soft."
Then he glanced at Superman.
"Superman—you've fought someone called Mister Mxyzptlk, right? The reason I know your identities is basically the same as that."
Superman's expression tightened immediately.
He remembered Mxyzptlk vividly: a walking headache with reality-warping power and a personality built entirely out of pranks.
The one saving grace was that if you made him say—or write—his name backward, he'd get kicked back to the Fifth Dimension and usually wouldn't show up again for a long time.
"Right," Superman said slowly, recalling an old conversation. "He knew my identity… and he said we're all characters in a story."
He stared at Ben, newly wary.
"Are you from the Fifth Dimension too?"
"No," Ben said, shaking his head. "I'm not a Fifth-Dimension being."
He'd only used Mxyzptlk as a reference point—something Superman could understand—so the next part wouldn't hit as absurdly.
"More accurately… I'm like a human from a parallel Earth. But in my world, you're characters in movies and animation. And even my watch comes from another animated series."
"…."
The room went dead silent.
The idea that your entire life was just something someone else watched for entertainment—turned into episodes, story arcs, and merchandise—was not an easy thing to swallow.
Superman, having dealt with Mxyzptlk, didn't spiral too hard.
Batman, meanwhile, looked almost… unsurprised.
Hal, on the other hand, looked like his worldview had just cracked in half.
"We're… just characters in a story?" he asked hoarsely.
"Then what's the point of everything we fight for?"
Ben—finally having said what he'd been holding in for a long time—tried to steady the room.
"You don't need to think that far," he said. "Just live in the present. Maybe it's just that some author wrote stories, and the protagonists just happened to resemble you in another world."
Batman didn't accept comfort. He went straight for the strategic angle.
"What's the ending?"
Ben shook his head.
"I don't know where the plot goes now. The moment I became a variable, things started diverging. Honestly, I'd love to go back to my original world. No Omnitrix, sure—but it's a lot safer than this disaster-magnet of a planet."
He paused, then added what he did remember.
"As for the original storyline—if I'm not mistaken… you all nearly get wiped out because of one reckless raid. Even if you eventually beat Darkseid, Earth ends up on the brink of collapse. Then, under the influence of some scumbag 'exorcist,' Flash reboots the entire universe. The rebooted timeline is even worse… and then it gets rebooted again… and again…"
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 80)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 80)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 74)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter20)
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